Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin headed north Monday to renew cooperative agreements between the state and Canadian province with new Quebec Premier Pauline Marois.

It was the first meeting between the two leaders since her election victory in September.

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Shumlin described their 90-minute exchange as warm and friendly and said he came away reassured Marois is committed to the same agenda Vermont leaders shared with her predecessor, Jean Charest.

"We have to remember Quebec is our single-largest trading partner so in terms of jobs and prosperity she's critical, they're critical to our success and vice-versa," Shumlin said Monday evening.

The agreement commits each side to share technical and planning expertise around shared flood risks and water quality issues in the Lake Champlain Basin and Lake Memphremagog.

Vermont has an existing contract to import Hydro-Quebec electricity, the state's single largest source of power. "We want to expand on those opportunities," the governor said.

And despite serious budget challenges in Quebec, Marois assured Shumlin she will continue funding to build the rest of the Autoroute 35 highway to Vermont connecting with I-89 at Highgate Springs by 2017, he said.

Each side committed to push their federal counterparts for higher speed passenger rail service from Montreal through Vermont to points south, with customs and security pre-clearances in Montreal -- and to deploy a seamless corridor of electric vehicle charging stations from Montreal to Burlington as well.

Two issues Shumlin said did not come up -- the governor's opposition to any Canadian tar sands oil moving through the pipeline under part of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, and Marois' interest in Quebec sovereignty from the rest of Canada.

Shumlin said the two were able to communicate easily in English without an interpreter.

The two leaders next plan to meet when Marois hosts New England governors and other Canadian premiers in Quebec City this summer.